To keep me on track with my goals, I’ve been trying some apps, videos, websites, meal plans, etc. It’s still a learning process. But here is what I have enjoyed so far.

MyFitnessPal

This app is great for allowing you to track meals as well as exercise, weight, water, etc.

It even allows you to scan barcodes for food items and add recipes from online, or manually, so it’s pretty convienient. I’m not using the premium method yet, but I’m thinking of giving it a go. I believe premium offers meal plans, workout regimines and a more refined calorie count.

Google Calendar

Before google calendar, I was pretty lazy with my orginazation skills. I would jot things down on a stray piece of paper or maybe on notes in my phone.

But now everything is all in one place. I get alerts and can even set specific reminders, goals or events throughout the week.
This has kept me much more motivated and focussed.

I need apps that are convienient, easy to navigate and actually keep me organized and so far these two have been the best.

Hey! I haven’t forgotten about this blog! Quite the opposite. I’ve been busy finding the best ways to organize my life and get the best results possible. But it’s been way too long and I’m overdue for some updates.

I’m using this week for some trial and error. I’m testing out some apps, videos, recipes and routines to see what works best as far as keeping me on track with my goals. It may not be a heavy week for posting, but I will try to post some updates towards the end of the week depending on what works and what doesn’t.

Calories Per Day

To start, I needed to set a specific goal for myself. And to do that, I needed to know where I am and where I want to be. I can’t say I am one to keep track of my calorie intake, but that’s about to change. I used calculator.net to get a better idea of my ideal calorie intake.

To start with, I input my information in order to find my ideal weight given my age and height.

I would say 139-143lbs is about where I was post puberty growthspurt, so that is my goal.

Next, I input my information to find out my calorie intake in order to lose, maintain and gain weight based on three levels of activity:

Sedentary (little or no exercise)

Lightly Active (exercise 1-3 times/week)

Moderately Active (exercise 3-5 times/week)

I chose these levels of activity to visualize where I am (sedentary), where I will start working towards (lightly active) and where I hope to be by the end of this process (moderately active).

Based on these figures, reaching my ideal body weight will be a 3-6 month process, depending on how many pounds per week I lose. As of now, 1-2lbs/week is my goal, so my projection is 4 and a half to five months.

Calories Per Meal

Now to get a better idea of what was recommended per meal, I looked at a website called verywell.com.

Many women who are trying to lose weight, consume about 1,200 to 1,400 calories per day […] That means that a woman might eat 300-400 calories at each meal and then eat two 100-calorie snacks in the late morning and afternoon.

I’m pretty sure I haven’t been following this regimen. Most meals consist of much more than 300-400 calories and most snack servings are definitely more than 100 calories. But the website continues.

…you don’t have to follow a specific plan when you divide calories for your meals. You can evaluate when you need your calories most and them divide them up to meet your needs. For example, if you are a dieter who gets late morning hunger pangs, you should probably consume more calories first thing in the morning. A meal that contains filling foods like protein-rich eggs or fiber-rich oatmeal might help you skip the high-calorie snacks or make better choices when the cravings hit.

This is a good note for me as someone who works most efficiently, has more energy and consumes less during the day when I have a large breakfast. I will definitely take that into account when building my meal plan*.

Next Time:

I want to work on putting together a meal plan as well as tricks to tracking my calories such as meal prep and helpful apps.

*I will provide a link to my meal plan once it’s been constructed.

Goals are a big one for me. There is a lot that I want and need to happen just in this summer alone. But I guess we can start with the big ones.

Career Goal. This has been tough for me. I’ve gone back and forth on this many times, but I need to sit down and really decide where I’m going and what I want out of life in this regard.

School. I’ve been out of school for a few years now, and my goal is definitely to get back into it.

My Driver’s License. Here is something I’ve been procrastinating about for a long time. But this summer is not ending before I get my G2. *Inserts andthatsafactjack.gif here*

Eat Right, Lose Weight. It’s been a long time coming. I’m not a teenager anymore and my metabolism could only take so much. There is a good 25-30lbs I’m looking to get rid of come this time next year. Diabetes runs in my family and so does a sweet tooth. Genetics are no joke. I really want to build the right long term diet and exercise plan for myself.

So there it is. My goals. My destination. Deciding where you want to go is the easy part, but figuring out how to get there, that takes some trial and error. And trust me when I say, I’ve made some errors. But this will finally be my year. At this point, I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. So it’s time to get it done.

-D

Next time:

Now that I have established The Goals, the next few blog posts will be about The Plan.